In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) at ISIDA-IVF

There are quite a number of types of IVF programs:

• IVF in the natural cycle
• IVF with hormonal stimulation
• IVF with donor oocytes
• IVF surrogacy
• IVF with NGS genetic analysis
• IVF with fresh or vitrified (frozen) embryos

 etc.

The feasibility of using a particular IVF program is determined by the doctor during a detailed examination of the married couple. He also gives spouses detailed information about the nuances of a particular type of IVF.

The main stages of the IVF program are:

Diagnosis of the reproductive health of future parents of the child

Before being included in the IVF program, the couple is asked to undergo a thorough examination in order to timely detect temporary or permanent contraindications for in vitro fertilization and timely correction of these conditions. If patients come to the clinic with the latest results of all necessary examinations, this IVF program item may be reduced or eliminated. This reduces the cost of the program.

Ovulation stimulation

It is carried out with the purpose of receiving not one, as it most often happens in the natural cycle, but several eggs. During this stage, the patient is administered special drugs that stimulate follicle growth. The presence of several eggs allows the embryologist to select the best of them for further fertilization. The duration of this stage is from 10 to 14 days.

In some cases, ovulation stimulation is not performed, and the only naturally mature egg cell is punctured in a woman during ovulation. The IVF program in the natural cycle is conducted in cases where a woman does not want to expose her body to the risks associated with hormonal stimulation; if hormonal stimulation is contraindicated to her; as well as in cases where the hormonal stimulation carried out in previous IVF attempts did not produce a sufficient number of oocytes suitable for fertilization.

Puncture of follicles and obtaining oocytes

Under the control of an ultrasound machine with a very thin needle, the doctor takes a sample of mature eggs and transmits them to an embryology laboratory. This procedure is painless, as it is performed under anesthesia. The specialist assesses the degree of maturity of the eggs produced, selects for fertilization oocytes, in which a small cell is clearly visible - the polar body (such oocytes are called M 2-oocyte). All manipulations must be carried out very quickly - within 3-4 hours after the puncture the best eggs are fertilized in the laboratory using the ICSI method.

ICSI fertilization

ICSІ is an abbreviation of the English term Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Inionіon, which translates literally as “the introduction of a spermatozoon into the oocyte cytoplasm”. During fertilization of the egg by the ICSI method, the sperm cell is injected directly into the cytoplasm of the egg. Morphologically, the best and most mobile spermatozoon is chosen for fertilization. He is undergoing the procedure of immobilization and activation for the fertilization process. During the manipulation of the egg is fixed so that the injection needle does not touch the genetic apparatus of the egg.

After 16-18 hours, the effectiveness of fertilization is assessed. And if embryologists determine that the fertilization procedure was not sufficiently effective (one or three pronuclei are observed in the middle of the cell), the zygote — the so-called fertilized egg 16-18 hours after ICSI — is excluded from the IVF program. Embryologists closely monitor the development of a fertilized egg for five days. After this period, the best of the obtained embryos is either transferred to the uterus of the future woman, or, if the genetic diagnostic method NGS is used, it is cryoconserved until the results of the analysis are obtained.

Conducting NGS genetic analysis (as desired by the patient)

NGS analysis is a preimplantation genetic screening that identifies genetic pathologies of embryos. The accuracy of embryo testing for chromosomal and monogenic diseases is 99.9%. The process is fully automated, which eliminates the impact of the human factor. This analysis increases the chances of pregnancy in the IVF program on average by 2.5 times. In the ISIDA clinic, more than 25% of IVF cycles are performed using the NGS method.

Embryo transfer to the uterine cavity

This manipulation is carried out under the control of ultrasound, it does not require anesthesia.

Pregnancy diagnosis

Two weeks after the embryo is transferred to the uterus of the expectant mother, a blood test is performed at the clinic to determine the level of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in the blood and to evaluate the program's performance. A positive blood test for HCG indicates that the IVF program was successful.

The final diagnosis of the onset of pregnancy occurs with an ultrasound scan 4 weeks after embryo transfer.

Further during pregnancy is no different from the usual. The use of in vitro fertilization does not affect delivery in any way.

The ISIDA clinic has developed several IVF programs. The doctor will help you to choose the most suitable for you after a thorough analysis of the anamnesis.